Hydrostatic transaxles are efficient and serviceable devices for transmitting power from an engine to the remote drive wheels of a vehicle. The manufacturer of the vehicle gets an all in one power unit needing only a belt to an engine to complete the drive train while the consumer gets an easy to operate, fairly reliable speed and direction control mechanism. However, hydrostatic transaxles have limitations in addition to presenting size and mounting difficulties. These combine to limit the number of applications in which hydrostatic transaxles presently are utilized. In addition, the customary use of a separate hydraulic power unit increases the cost of the transaxles.
The present invention is directed to providing a strong, adaptable, heavy duty hydrostatic transaxle.